Hardrock 2010

The past two years I've done Hardrock I posted VERY long race reports detailing the course, so I'll keep this one a bit shorter, maybe one beer long...

In a nutshell, I ran strong until Grouse Gulch, bombed up and over Handies, and recovered well until the finish. I had run smart into Telluride (mile 27.8), then pushed the pace a bit over to Governor (mile 36), then crushed the downhill into Ouray (mile 43.9). The competitive juices were really flowing here, as I was running to beat my good friend Brooks, who had been struggling over some of the early climbs.

I picked up my pacer, Shad, at Ouray just after chowing down my first King's Chef bacon cheeseburger and downing a PBR. Shad worked me like a rented mule up and over Engineer Pass and down to Grouse (mile 58.4). It was shortly before midnight at Grouse when I arrived, and though I was very tired I still had visions of running my dream time at Hardrock, somewhere in the 33 hour range.

Katie was waiting at Grouse and gave me the update on my friends in the race. Unfortunately, this was the end of my "race" and the beginning of my hike/run. When she told me Brooks had dropped at Ouray, it sorta took the wind out of my sail. Instead of fueling up and heading up and over Handies, I decided I needed to rest for a while in the back of my truck. Ended up spending an hour at the Grouse aid station.

Time-wise I was still good after leaving Grouse, but a horrendous stretch between Grouse and Sherman ended any hopes of an impressive time for me. The Z monster had jumped on my back, and I just couldn't shake him off. Shad was trying his best to keep me moving, but I just couldn't summon any energy. Took several breaks along this stretch, one of them a full hour, and was passed by dozens of runners.

Finally rolled into Sherman (mile 71.8) at 7:40AM, after a period of nine hours had passed. Ouch. Now in "just finish" mode, I once again bedded down, spending half an hour in a tent before hitting the aid station. Spent a total of 50 minutes at the Sherman aid station. But right before I left, a volunteer gave me a handful of bacon, which definitely improved things.

Gotta give a huge thanks to Shad here. I believe Shad thought he was going to be finished at Sherman. He was kind of surprised when he found out my crew wasn't going to be there to pick him up. He ended up dragging my ass all the way to Cunningham Gulch (mile 91.3), a stretch of almost 24 hours for him. He wanted to kick my ass over this SNAFU, but I kept telling him it was good Leadville training, which shamed him into biting his tongue and continuing on.

Shortly after leaving Sherman I started to get my second wind. The stretch from Sherman to Pole Creek (mile 80.9), to Maggie Gulch (mile 85.2), to Cunningham went very well and I was able to keep a decent pace, passing lots of runners who had crushed me up and over Handies.

I finally dropped Shad off at Cunningham. Had another Pabst here to the amazement of some of the aid station workers. Had a great climb up and over the final section, running the last nine miles to the finish line in 3:06, which included passing a bunch of runners up the final hill and passing another two or three over the last two miles of the course.

Ended up kissing the rock at 7:31PM, for a time of 37:31. For as lousy a stretch between Grouse and Sherman I had, I was somewhat happy with the time and really glad to keep the Rocky Mountain Slam attempt alive. I smoked my victory cigar and immediately headed over to the Silverton Brewery to celebrate.

Feeling pretty good as I write this. I got a cut on my right foot from a rock that hurts, and a nice scrape on my forehead from a Pete Rose impression I did coming down a steep hill, but other than that I think recovery will be quick. I feel not only like I'll be able to recover for Leadville, but should be able to get in some quality workouts before then. I'm amazed at just how bad I felt during my Boston/Jemez meltdowns versus how good I've felt during Bighorn/Hardrock.

Two down, two to go...

Some other observations:

-What a weird start. Karl, who I think of as the King of Hardrock, made a wrong turn about 50 meters into the race. The beginning pace was very slow, allowing Brooks to take the lead up the first climb (about 200 meters into the race). I was in 10th place at the top of the first hill, the Shrine of the Miners, right behind Karl. I knew this was no good for me, so I walked the following downhill until another 20 or so people had passed me. I could tell that Karl wasn't having a good day, and would later tell Brooks that I thought he would DNF.

-There was lots of excitement back in the middle of the pack over Diana Finkel's run and the possibility of her winning outright. We were told at Pole Creek that she had indeed taken the overall title, to which I responded, "this is a bad day for us male chauvinist pigs." Luckily, this was bad info and Jared Campbell was saving the day for us guys. Wonder if it was tough on Jared's pacer over the final section (I believe it was his wife) to lead him back to the win over another woman? Big kudos to both, however, and I loved both their speeches at the awards ceremony. Well deserving champions, both of 'em.

-Kudos to my buddy Greg Hartman for a strong finish. Shad and I passed him on the way up to Engineer Pass and he was among the walking dead. He told me he hadn't been able to keep any food down and was basically trying to make it to the next aid station to drop. I gave him a snickers bar and moved past him, thinking I wouldn't see him again. He would suffer for a bit more, but would recover to finish in a strong 33:22.

-Strong finish by my pacer last year, Paul Smith. He was one of the many who passed me on the way up Handies. I would close on him over the final third of the race, but he was able to hold me off and finish in 36:50. This puts the pressure on Shad to run strong when he strikes it rich in the Hardrock lottery.

-Big kudos to the rest of my crew, Nacheaux and Katie. I'm always astounded at how they will put up with me, especially during some of the rough moments a hundred miler can bring out in me. I'm also jealous of how much more they get to drink than I do during the race.